BOUTSCOUT
Matchup deep-dive

Darren Elkins vs.
Zhang Tiequan

Two full careers, measured against each man's own division and against each other — the tape, the read, and every number behind them.

19-11-0 Darren Elkins · UFC
1-3-0 Zhang Tiequan · UFC
Tale of the tape

The men, measured.

Frame, age, layoff and recent form — green marks the edge on each line.

19-11-0
UFC record
1-3-0
Featherweight
Division (benchmark)
Featherweight
42.2
AgeΔ 5.8 yrs
48
5'10"
HeightΔ 2"
5'8"
71"
ReachΔ 2"
69"
Orthodox
Stance
Orthodox
15.8
Layoff (months)Δ 149 mo
164.8
LWWLW
Last 5 (newest first)
LLLW
The read

What the numbers say.

Scouting notes, auto-generated — only stats deviating more than 25% from the division median make this list. No narratives, just deviations.

Zhang Tiequan is a submission threat — 2.06 attempts per 15 minutes, vs a 0.46 Featherweight norm.
Darren Elkins hunts takedowns — 2.87 per 15 minutes, vs a 1.19 Featherweight norm.
Darren Elkins is a submission threat — 1.07 attempts per 15 minutes, vs a 0.46 Featherweight norm.
Level of competition

Who did they actually beat?

Full-career records re-graded by the tier of opposition — the same grading the Contender Series pick model uses. Records built on tier-4 competition are worth less than records built on killers.

Darren Elkins

Competition tierWL
Tier 1 — UFC / DWCS / PFL / Bellator / ONE / Rizin 1911
Tier 3 — regional circuit 101

Tier-weighted record quality: 1.15 · 19 tier-1/2 wins · 15 finish wins over 41 documented bouts

In the UFC: 13-8 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +1.3 wins over .500

Zhang Tiequan

Full career not yet synced for Zhang Tiequan — tier grading appears once their record documentation lands (refreshes weekly).

In the UFC: 0-1 against opponents who walked in above .500 · avg opponent walk-in record +0.0 wins over .500

Striking

The stand-up battle.

Career totals; norms are the medians of each man's own division.

Significant strikes — landed & absorbed

11903.40/min · norm 3.54
Sig. strikes landed
521.43/min · norm 3.54
11693.34/min · norm 3.47
Sig. strikes absorbed
802.20/min · norm 3.47
38.4%norm 45.0%
Striking accuracy
36.9%norm 45.0%
51.2%norm 54.85%
Striking defense
50.3%norm 54.85%
20.09/15 · norm 0.29
Knockdowns
00.00/15 · norm 0.29

Where the fight happens (share of sig. strike attempts)

Darren Elkins

Distance 75.8% (norm 85.7%) · Clinch 11.7% (norm 6.1%) · Ground 12.4% (norm 6.5%)

Zhang Tiequan

Distance 98.6% (norm 85.7%) · Clinch 0.7% (norm 6.1%) · Ground 0.7% (norm 6.5%)

What they throw (share of sig. strike attempts by target)

Darren Elkins

Head 86.2% (norm 77.4%) · Body 11.6% (norm 12.9%) · Legs 2.2% (norm 7.8%)

Zhang Tiequan

Head 89.4% (norm 77.4%) · Body 2.1% (norm 12.9%) · Legs 8.5% (norm 7.8%)

Zone accuracy matrix Landed / attempted by zone

Green ≥ division median, red below. UFCStats tracks position and target as separate splits.

Zone Elkins L/AAccFeatherweight med Tiequan L/AAccFeatherweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 685 / 2348 29.2% 40.9% 52 / 139 37.4% 40.9%
In the clinch 242 / 363 66.7% 70.8% 0 / 1 too few to rate 70.8%
On the ground 263 / 385 68.3% 69.2% 0 / 1 too few to rate 69.2%
BY TARGET
To the head 904 / 2670 33.9% 37.2% 42 / 126 33.3% 37.2%
To the body 235 / 359 65.5% 68.2% 2 / 3 too few to rate 68.2%
To the legs 51 / 67 76.1% 80.7% 8 / 12 too few to rate 80.7%

Zones with fewer than 25 attempts are marked "too few to rate". Each fighter is measured against the median of leaderboard-eligible fighters in his own division (Featherweight: 126 fighters · Featherweight: 126 fighters).

What lands on them Opponents' accuracy against each man

Green ≤ division median — harder to hit than the typical man in his division.

Zone vs Elkins L/AOpp accFeatherweight med vs Tiequan L/AOpp accFeatherweight med
BY POSITION
At distance 817 / 1924 42.5% 39.2% 46 / 112 41.1% 39.2%
In the clinch 166 / 227 73.1% 70.3% 1 / 2 too few to rate 70.3%
On the ground 186 / 244 76.2% 69.4% 33 / 47 70.2% 69.4%
BY TARGET
To the head 853 / 1992 42.8% 35.9% 64 / 140 45.7% 35.9%
To the body 182 / 245 74.3% 67.9% 13 / 18 too few to rate 67.9%
To the legs 134 / 158 84.8% 81.5% 3 / 3 too few to rate 81.5%
Grappling

The ground war.

Takedowns, control and submissions — career totals with each man's per-minute rates against his division norm.

6734.0% acc · 2.87/15 · norm 1.19
Takedowns landed
2100.0% acc · 0.83/15 · norm 1.19
3256.1% def · norm 61.5%
Takedowns stopped
675.0% def · norm 61.5%
129:0236.8% of cage time · norm 16.7%
Control time
2:015.6% of cage time · norm 16.7%
53:462:18 per 15 · norm 3:12
Time under control
24:079:57 per 15 · norm 3:12
251.07/15 · norm 0.46
Submission attempts
52.06/15 · norm 0.46

Bars compare the two men's rates (per-minute / per-15 figures), not raw totals — Elkins has more cage time on record.

Next move

Let the engine settle it.